Women are much more likely to be affected by stress than men, with a shocking 81% saying they’ve felt overwhelmed and unable to cope in the past year.
Even more worryingly, more than a third have been so stressed they’ve felt suicidal, and 18% have self-harmed.
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These statistics came from the country’s biggest stress survey, performed by the Mental Health Foundation and questioning more than 4,600 people.
While women are worst affected, men don’t have an easy time either with 67% feeling overwhelmed and 29% considering suicide because of stress.
The causes of stress also revealed a gender divide, with women stating than personal finance was the biggest reason for 43%, while 41% of men felt the pressures of work caused the biggest effect.
The survey showed that younger people are struggling too, with 18 to 24-year-olds more stressed than their parents.
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‘Stress is one of the great public health challenges of our time, but it still isn’t taken as seriously as physical health concerns,’ says charity director Isabella Goldie.
‘Stress is a significant factor in mental health problems. It is also linked to physical health problems like heart disease, problems with our immune system, insomnia and digestive problems.’
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